Wednesday, July 06, 2016

On July 5, 2016, news
broke that Comcast will enable consumers to access Netflix on their set-top
boxes. This agreement between Comcast and Netflix is an example of how multichannel
video programming distributors (MVPDs) are innovating their services to meet
consumer preferences for online video.

In February 2016,
the FCC issued a notice of
proposed rulemaking which would mandate video devices to allow for 3rd
party access to MVPD subscribers. However, these regulations would lock in old
technologies and would not allow the market to develop into an app-based
service, which will enable online platforms and third party content to reach
consumers through an MVPD service. It is important that similar agreements occur in
the form of market innovation so consumers can choose which services they value
the most, not through top-down FCC regulations imposing unnecessary costs onto
MVPDs.